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Chronicle Live
Entertainment
Catherine Swan

What’s on at Seven Stories this World Book Day as celebrations are set to spark imaginations

World Book Day is almost upon us - and what better way to celebrate than by visiting the first museum in the UK completely dedicated to children’s stories, which happens to be right in the heart of Newcastle.

Otherwise known as The National Centre for Children’s Books, Seven Stories in the Ouseburn Valley has storytelling at its heart, from sharing how stories were created to encouraging families to read together.

Visitors can enjoy a range of exhibitions, workshops and events at the charity and museum, all of which are focused on bringing stories to life for kids to help spark their imagination.

Go here for more what's on updates, news and reviews from around the North East

Seven Stories in the Ouseburn is the first museum in the UK solely dedicated to children's books (Chronicle Live)

Open since 2005, the centre has more recently been striving to make stories more accessible for children, and has now removed their general admission fee so that the building is free to enter.

“At Seven Stories, every day is World Book Day,” says Wendy Elliott, interim chief executive. “We share stories and we story-tell and we embrace children’s literature every single day. We’re really confident we’ve created a safe, friendly, inclusive place for people and families to enjoy.”

Staff at Seven Stories are encouraging children to read for pleasure in line with this year’s World Book Day theme, which Wendy describes as an “essential life skill”, and hope that children visiting the centre will feel encouraged to read more.

The centre is named after its seven storeys of exhibitions, galleries and event spaces (Chronicle Live)

“Our team’s special way of storytelling, we hope, is an infectious way of bringing families and children together, to give them that hook and just that spark to pick up a book and start reading together," Wendy says.

On World Book Day there will be free storytimes to enjoy at Seven Stories taking place at 10.30am, 1pm and 1.30pm.

The centre is also extending celebrations to the weekend, hosting two special drawing workshops, with themes of Fantastic Beasts and Into The Wild Woods, with their Story Catcher team.

The centre has storytime sessions on this World Book Day (Chronicle Live)

Any visitors who arrive dressed up as their favourite book character will get 10% off in the bookshop on World Book Day until the end of Sunday.

Seven Stories also currently has three floors of galleries open to the public which are open throughout World Book Day celebrations.

Their permanent exhibition, Where Stories Come From, has new additions from Tony Ross, one of the world’s most popular children’s book illustrators.

There's also a bookshop for children who've been inspired to get reading (Chronicle Live)

The Wildwoods Gallery explores some of the world’s most famous fictional worlds including Narnia, Harry Potter and DiscWorld, through original artwork, manuscripts and other glimpses into how these iconic stories were created.

Shifter of Shapes: Celebrating Nature looks at popular book The Lost Spells, with additions from North East artist and writer Abbey Scott inspired by the woods of Northumberland.

Seven Stories is suitable for all ages and is open 10am-5pm. Tickets for events and workshops start from £6.50 per person.

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